A BILL to amend and reenact §50-1-3 of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended, relating to increasing the salaries of
magistrates equal to Class I and Class IX circuit and county
clerks.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §50-1-3 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be amended and reenacted to read as follows:ARTICLE 1. COURTS AND THEIR OFFICERS.§50-1-3. Salaries of magistrates.
(a) The Legislature finds and declares that:
(1) The West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals has held that
a salary system for magistrates which is based upon the population
that each magistrate serves does not violate the equal protection
clause of the Constitution of the United States;
(2) The West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals has held that a salary system for magistrates which is based upon the population
that each magistrate serves does not violate section thirty-nine,
article VI of the Constitution of West Virginia;
(3) The utilization of a two-tiered salary schedule for
magistrates is an equitable and rational manner by which
magistrates should be compensated for work performed;
(4) Organizing the two tiers of the salary schedule into one
tier for magistrates serving less than eight thousand four hundred
in population and the second tier for magistrates serving eight
thousand five hundred or more in population is rational and
equitable given current statistical information relating to
population and caseload; and
(5) That all magistrates who fall under the same tier should
be compensated equally.
(b) The salary of each magistrate shall be paid by the State.
Magistrates who serve fewer than eight thousand four hundred in
population shall be paid annual salaries of thirty thousand six
hundred twenty-five dollars and magistrates who serve eight
thousand four hundred or more in population shall be paid annual
salaries of thirty-seven thousand dollars: Provided, That on and
after the first day of July, two thousand three, magistrates who
serve fewer than eight thousand five hundred in population shall be
paid annual salaries of thirty-three thousand six hundred
twenty-five dollars and magistrates who serve eight thousand five hundred or more in population shall be paid annual salaries of
forty thousand dollars: Provided, That on and after the first day
of July, two thousand six, magistrates who serve fewer than eight
thousand five hundred in population shall be paid annual salaries
of thirty-six thousand dollars and magistrates who serve eight
thousand five hundred or more in population shall be paid annual
salaries of forty-two thousand dollars.
(c) For the purpose of determining the population served by
each magistrate, the number of magistrates authorized for each
county shall be divided into the population of each county. For
the purpose of this article, the population of each county is the
population as determined by the last preceding decennial census
taken under the authority of the United States government.

NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to increase the salaries of
magistrates equal to Class I and Class IX circuit and county
clerks.

Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.